The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE 2013 BTC Carifta Games is just 22 days away, and local patrons have been turning out in droves at the ticket box office at the new Thomas A Robinson track and field stadium.

Basil Christie, chairman of the local organising committee, in this week’s Carifta update, said ticket sales have been staggering over the past three days they have been available.

“We anticipate high attendance for these games and we again urge the public to come and get their tickets early,” he said. “Tickets are going very fast. It’s only the third day since we opened the box office here at the stadium and I’m happy to report that most of the tickets are gone already. We remind you that this is a 15,000 seat stadium so there are still many seats available, but we encourage you to get to the stadium as early as possible to purchase your tickets.”

The Bahamas will host the region’s top junior track and field meet March 28 to April 1, featuring 23 out of a possible 26 Carifta member federations and 550 athletes registered thus far.

“There are a lot of people involved in this process and we are again committed to making sure that this event is a great success and we are committed to making sure that this is the best Carifta experience our local patrons and our Caribbean neighbours will have,” Christie said.

“All systems are go. We have our official certification for both tracks, the old Thomas A Robinson Stadium and the new one where the Carifta Games will be held. We have contracted accommodations at the Paradise Island Harbour Resort and the Nassau Palm, where the athletes and coaches will be staying. We have made arrangements with all of the local hotels for the many supporters that will be coming to Carifta. We have charters coming in from all over the Caribbean and the international media coming down in full force as well.”

BAAA president Mike Sands urged the public to continue to boost ticket sales and support the young Team Bahamas when they compete against the best in the region.

“Tickets are going extremely fast but there’s no need for panic. There are sections that are sold out but, at the end of the day, with the panoramic view this stadium possesses, there are no ‘garbage seats’ in this stadium. But the longer you wait the less your chances are of getting those prime seats,” he said, “We need Bahamians to come out in droves and support their own because I can tell you that the diaspora of Jamaica, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago will be represented. So I want our Bahamians to come out and show their national pride, because other countries’ flags will be prominently displayed and we don’t want to play second fiddle in our own backyard.”